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24 Black British Actors Who Aren't Idris Elba

Many British actors have made the leap across the pond into Hollywood, but audiences seem to be familiar with only a few names. And, while we love Idris Elba — seriously, how could you not? — there’s plenty of UK talent working in Hollywood that we often overlook, some who recently catapulted into the limelight, and others we’re ready to see more of on our screens. Here’s a list of familiar and not-so familiar faces.

Oh, you know you know Delroy Lindo. The British-American Tony-Nominated actor has appeared in Crooklyn, Malcolm X, Gone in 60 Seconds, and appeared in last year’s ABC show Blood & Oil. He’s currently poised to play Marcus Garvey in an upcoming biopic.

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Michael Obiora

Michael’s snagged roles in Luther and cult fave Misfits. He also appeared on soaps like Casualty and EastEnders.

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Richard Ayoade

The BAFTA-winning comedian, writer, and actor made us laugh until we cried on The IT Crowd and starred opposite Ben Stiller and Jonah Hill in 2012’s The Watch. Ayoade has a cult following in the US, but with such great comedic skill and writing he’s bound to receive a lot more attention soon.

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Daniel Kaluuya

Daniel was recently cast in Marvel’s upcoming Ryan Cooler-directed Black Panther and is slated to voice Bluebell in the Watership Down miniseries. But, make sure to check out his roles in Kick-Ass 2, Sicario, hit fantasy-horror show The Fades, and his amazing turn in Black Mirror’s “Fifteen Million Merits."

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Jacob Anderson

If you’ve been watching Game of Thrones, then you’ll recognize Jacob as Grey Worm. But, what you may not know is that the actor is an amazing rapper, going by the name Raleigh Ritchie. His debut album You’re a Man Now, Boy was released earlier this year.

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Ricky Whittle

Whittle has made American audiences swoon in Mistresses, become a fan favorite on The CW’s The 100, and has us intrigued as Shadow on American Gods.

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Lucien Laviscount

The Scream Queens actor played Earl Grey – RIP Earl Grey, we loved you — in the bloody horror-comedy and appeared in everyone’s favorite UK drama Skins.

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Chiwetel Ejiofor

Chiwetel’s list of roles and accomplishments is enviable. 12 Years A Slave, Kinky Boots, The Martian, an Oscar nomination, three Golden Globe nominations, and a BAFTA win. And, that’s not even the half of it.

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Colin Salmon

The Brit’s comedic skills have been put on display in Netflix’s Master of None and the UK’s coming-of-age comedy Some Girls. He played Jarrod Sands in CBS show Limitless and fans of Arrow will know him as Walter Steele.

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Charles Venn

UK audiences might recognize him from a number of shows like Casualty and EastEnders. And while he’s had it roles in US films like The Dark Knight and The Bourne Ultimatum, he’s long overdue for meatier roles in the US.

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Adrian Lester

Adrian is not only an amazing actor whose resume includes stellar theatre work -- he won a Best Actor award from the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for his work in Othello and played Ellis Carter in Girlfriends, Joan’s love interest — he was also appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2013 for his service to drama.

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Samuel Anderson

Samuel played Crowther in the Royal National Theatre’s The History Boys, which had a run on Broadway. He’s appeared on Doctor Who and UK soap Casualty.

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David Gyasi

If the English actor has a familiar face, it’s because he’s appeared in Cloud Atlas, Interstellar, and starred in The CW miniseries Containment.

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Jimmy Akingbola

Jimmy is another Arrow actor having appeared on the show as Baron Reiter. And, in 2008, he became the first black actor to play the role of Jimmy Porter in acclaimed playwright John Osborne’s Look Back In Anger. His brother Sola also happens to be head percussionist for Jamiroquai.

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Adele Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Adewale’s resume includes turns as Killer Croc in Suicide Squad and Dave Duerson in Concussion. He’s also set to voice Captain Vervain in the highly-anticipated Watership Down miniseries.

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David Oyelowo

British actor David Oyelowo, who is most known for portraying Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, is turning 41 on April 1.

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Aml Ameen

Ameen played Capheus in the first season of Netflix hit Sense8 and landed roles in Lee Daniels’ The Butler, The Maze Runner, and Beyond the Lights. His first Hollywood film role was in Red Tails, the story of the African American Tuskegee airman in World War II.

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Ben Bailey Smith

The UK rapper and actor has made audiences laugh in the UK’s Murder in Successville and the English version of Drunk History. He often appears under his stage name Doc Brown and has released some awesome studio albums, EPS, and singles. He also happens to be the brother of writer Zadie Smith.

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Sope Dirisu

If you’ve seen this recent season of Black Mirror, you’ll recognize him from “Nosedive.” The actor also plays Fred in the criminally underrated British-American show Humans.

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Eamonn Walker

Fans of Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. know Eamonn as Wallace Boden, but the British actor is also known for his award-winning role on Oz as Kareem Saïd and his Broadway debut as Mark Antony in Julius Caesar alongside Denzel Washington.

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Arinze Kene

Anglophiles might know Arinzé from Our Girl, Youngers, and the horror-comedy Crazyhead, but the British playwright's recent role in The Pass really shows the actor’s range.

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Nathan Stewart-Jarrett

Nathan caught everyone’s attention in the massive UK hit show Misfits and later starred in the sci-fi drama Utopia. He’s also starred opposite Jude Law in Dom Hemingway.

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Noel Clarke

The London-born actor has appeared in Star Trek Into Darkness and has been award the Laurence Olivier Award for Most Promising Performer for his performance in the Royal Court Theatre’s Where Do We Live and BAFTA’s Orange Rising Star Award for Kidulthood and Adulthood.

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Alfred Enoch

The Harry Potter alum currently plays Wes Gibbins on ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder and has received two NAACP Image Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.